Farmers to deposit their crop yield in banks in protest

Amritsar: Activists of many farmers’ organisations have decided to visit the banks branches, extending facilities of loans and other advances to the farmers fraternity, while taking their crop yield along with them as they had no money left with them in order to make payments of their bank installments.

At a mammoth gathering of the farmers outfits in whole sale vegetables’ market of Vallah by-pass, farmers leaders strongly criticised the anti-farmers policies, framed by the state as well as union government from time to time.

Taking a strong view of the government’s plans, Lakhbir Singh Nizampura, a farmer leader, alleged that on the one hand government had been advising them to shed ancient crop circle and take to sowing vegetables and cereals. However, the government had never come forward to take care of those farmers who, by adhering to government’s advice, took to vegetables and cereals. He asserted that since the government did not have any concrete policy to save the farmers, therefore, their vegetables were unable fetch reasonable price in the market.

Dr Satnam Singh, another leader, while taking the ruling alliance of SAD-BJP to task, flayed the agricultural policies framed by it during the past 10 years. He added that the ruling alliance never extended any type of benefit to the farmers community of the state, rather remained busy to fill their own pockets. He alleged that owing to spurious seeds and fertilizers introduced by Punjab’s agriculture minister Jathedar Tota Singh, farmers were rendered penniless as their crops were reduced to ashes.

Another leader, Bhupinder Singh Samber, however, demanded that government should come forward to purchase the potato crop of the state farmers, because there was no purchaser in the market.

The farmers’ leaders finally resolved that they would visit the bank branches with their crop yield to deposit the same there, as they had no sufficient money to pay off their debts.